Shabana coach opens up on managing Gen Zs in the team
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 19.05.26. | 14:23
The Shabana playing unit is largely made up of young players
Shabana FC head coach Osborne Monday has opened up on the challenges of managing young players in the team.
Monday made a return to Shabana a month ago, on an interim basis, following the exit of Peter Okidi.
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The former Harambee Stars midfielder was tasked with helping Shaban finish the season strongly as well as develop the scores of youngsters who fall in the Gen Z bracket (born between 1997 and 2012).
Speaking after Shabana’s win over Bidco United, the 40-year-old explained some of the ways of coaching the players and how it worked to deliver three points against Bidco.
“Relationships with players are very key. They are Gen Zs and so you have to go to their level to understand what they want in order to help them to grow in football.
Mambote (Assis) for instance was performing below par last week and I expressed my frustrations on him, had a heated chat and I think he reacted positively to it,” said Monday.
The Congolese import not only won a penalty in the 83rd minute but also went on to take responsibility and score from 12 yards.
Monday also went further to attribute Shabana’s victory to his plan to start with Mambote ahead of Harambee Stars striker Austin Odongo.
“It was a tactical plan that we had prepared in training to start them (Mambote and Odongo) on the bench and it eventually bore fruit. Victor (Omondi) had done a good job and looking at how the match was progressing, we needed fresh blood,” he added.
The win over Bidco brought to an end to Shabana’s four-match winless streak and saw them rise to fourth with 51 points.
Shabana will wrap up the season with matches against Sofapaka and KCB FC,respectively.